This infographic shows the importance of reputation and what can happen if an organisation does not manage their reputation. It also demonstrates the power of customer reviews saying that 70% of customers consult reviews before a purchase, traffic to consumer review websites has increases significantly and 90% of consumers would trust a review from somebody that they know.
Tonight on Channel 4 Coca-Cola is launching it's 'Coming Together' campaign advert in the UK. The advert aims to highlight Coke's lower calorie options and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The TV advert will be accompanied by a marketing campaign in newspapers and magazines.
The advert is very similar to the anti-obesity video that Coke have already launched in the USA with the same soundtrack and imagery, except there is no dialogue in the UK version.
In the USA, the ad received mixed reactions, with some people claiming it was brilliant that Coke were finally admitting that they have played some part in the current obesity crisis and see it as the start of an apology. However, much of the responses have been negative:
To whit, Coca-Cola says that the ad is part of their “ongoing commitment to deliver more beverage choices … clearly communicate the calorie content of its products.”
In other words -- an ad in the truest sense, meant to publicise certain products.
In the video Coca-Cola make the statement that "All calories count, no matter where they come from, including Coca-Cola." This quote has caused controversy as studies have shown that the calories from drinking high calorie drinks like Coke actually have a greater effect on weight gain and obesity compared to other calories.
This controversy explains why Coco-Cola have decided to scrap the dialogue in the UK version of their advert. Through the use of imagery and music they are making a point about the issue of an unhealthy lifestyle and diet without actually making any claims - making it more difficult to criticise their message.
I think it's a step forward for all communications when a company begins to be honest about their products and bad health effects they may have. Coke's ad will hopefully pave the way for more transparent marketing and PR campaigns in the future. But unfortunately, this advert does not fill me up with a fuzzy warm feeling about the brand.
Everyone knows how important it is nowadays to stand out from the crowd when it comes to job hunting. Unemployment levels are some of the highest they have ever been in the UK and many job vancancies are recieving hundreds of applications.
In order to sweeten his job hunt, a man from New York came up with the idea of printing his CV onto a chocolate bar and managed to secure a job in Marketing.
Nick Begley's Chocolate CV
The creator of the chocolate CV, Nick Begley replaced the ingredients and nutrional content with his work experience and skills.
Begley told ABC News: "People are either going to love or hate it.
"My focus was to find an organisation that would embrace it, because if they weren't open to that kind of out-of-the-box thinking, that wouldn't be a company that I would fit in well with anyways."
Could these sort of personal PR stunts become more popular in our oversubscribed job market?
I'm not a fan of Jay-Z's music but this collaboration between him and Bing to promote his book is brilliant. It proves how much of an impact 'sharing' has on a campaign and how incorporating social media into the planning can be really successful.
When it comes to coffee shops North London's Crouch End has it's fair share, but new arrival 'Harris and Hoole' has sparked controversy. The branch which also has stores in Amersham, Uxbridge, Ruislip and Southgate is up to 49% owned by the high-street giant Tesco.
The coffee industry is lucrative, last year Costa Coffee made £36.1million pre-tax profits. It is a well known fact that Tesco make £1 out of every £8 spent on the high-street and the organisation already have brand extensions including banking, clothing. dvd rentals, electronics and mobile phones. Tesco's ever-increasing power in the marketplace is what is making people unhappy about the coffee shop.
In reality, Harris and Hooleis family-owned by Australian siblings Nick, Laura and Andrew Tolley. The family own the majority of shares in the business and have total control over the way it is run. Tesco invested in the venture and have no say in the business strategy. Unfortunately, the association with Tesco has not done Harris and Hoole's reputation any favours and has resulted in extensive negative media coverage. The next few months will show if this is enough to put people off the chain or if it will thrive as well as the other high-street coffee chains.
